Analysing Myspace Pages - Shwayze

http://www.myspace.com/shwayze

Shwayze is a rap/indie band from LA that has come into the public eye only in the last few months. I think their Myspace is particularly interesting as they have used it to promote themselves in several different ways.
Firstly they have promoted a band image through the design and layout of their page. The yellow and ‘wood’ connotes the beach, which associates itself well with California (where they come from). It also fits in with their laid back look. As well as this images of shades come up frequently on the page, fitting with their image but also becoming a bit of a motif.
The page is also extremely informative, offering tour dates as well as offering some background on the band. It even mentions when the new album is coming out and where to buy it when it does.
A lot of merchandise is also promoted on the page. For instance T-shirts, ringtones etc, which shows that the band is becoming more established and becoming more popular.
The page also acts as an advert for the band as you can listen to their ‘hits’ as well as watch their music videos. This encourages people to listen to their music, get a taste for it and then download it.
Loyalty to the band is also encouraged with links to fan sites and forums, where fans can talk to other fans and build an online community.

Rules of Film making (the ones to break for Music video!)

Here's just a few of the rules that set out for film makers in order for the editng not to be noticeable in a scene, and are also to ensure that the audience do not get confused by narrative etc. However with music video's, both of these points are irrelevant due to how the format serves a very different purpose. These are just a few of the rules that I reminded myself of from Amy Villarejo's 'Film Studies The Basics'.

180 degree rule - Belongs to the system of continuity editing, the rule that establishes the axis of action, a line running perpendicular to the camera, such that the camera is understood to have to stay on the same side of this line for each of the subsequent shots, preserving screen direction.

30 degree rule - Also to ensure continuity, the rule that one should vary camera angle shot to shot by at least 30 degrees to avoid jump cuts (figures appear to jump in the frame)

Eyeline Matches - Form of continuity editing which would join a first shot of a character looking offscreen to something else he is meant to see in the second shot.

Here's a scene from a classical Hollywood style film, Casablanca which uses these devices in order to create a cohesive and linear narrative structure.

Brief History of the Music Video

While thinking about the music video project I thought it would be worthwhile to look at the origins of this format of entertainment, in order to help my understanding. The information I used to help me with this was obtained through Wikipedia as well as the March 2008 copy of VIBE magazine

1929 – Bessie Smith’s ‘Saint Louis Blues’
Perhaps the first music video, ‘Saint Louis Blues’ is a 16 minute film where Bessie smith appears and sings her song of the same name. This still very much is of the classical Hollywood style.



1936 – Show Boat
Paul Robeson sings ‘Ol Man River’ in the film ‘ShowBoat’. The reason why I believe that the clip seems important is due to the use of the pan around Robeson, which seems unusual for films of the time, and is a concept that is used in many music videos now.



1959 – Radio DJ J.P. Richardson allegedly comes up with the phrase ‘Music Video’

1961 – Ricky Nelson’s ‘Travelin Man’
The Official first music video as the video does not just focus on the performance, but some images are cut inbetween of the world (thus relating to the title of the song)



1981 – MTV is Launched

All the Grindhouse Trailers

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Here are all four fake trailers from 'Grindhouse', after watching these i'm thinking more about how interesting it would be to do a modern spin on one of these.

Change of Idea

Since the group's decision to look into other area's apart from boybands, I've been looking into two different styles of video

Abstract Horror
This is the style of video like the Aphix Twin's ones shown below. The video's are nightmarish and extremely bizarre, with lots of disturbing imagery. A lot of these kinds of video's seem to have been inspired by the works of David Lynch. I think if we created a video in this style and created a good narrative it could be extremely effective especially with a grainy film look.




(David Lynches - Mulholland Drive)

Narrative
Literally the music video illustrates the song, and this is most clearly shown by the ICE CUBE video shown below. This might be good if we found the right song as it would be easy to sustain a narrative.


(Ice Cube - Today was a good day)

Chemical Brothers - Elektrobank

Director Spike Jonze (also made ‘Sabotage’ by Beastie Boys and ‘Get Back’ by Ludacris), Starring Sofia Coppola (Film Director and ‘actress’)

This is a purely narrative video with no performance by the group being shown in the video. However some of the Gymnastics in the video are in time with the music and so in that sense it could be said that there is some performance. For instance how Coppola twirls the ribbon in time to the music.

The track is of the ‘Techno/Dance’ genre so does not have to have a performance artist. As well as this the distinct lack of lyrics means that the music video does not have to correspond in meaning to the track title.

The main subject of the video does not seem to be sexualised at all with no lingering shots etc. Instead the watcher is seemed to be encouraged to be wowed by the gymnastic skill on display. Hence the video is more about showing an aspirational character. This is shown by the quick succession of long shots and medium shots, allowing all the action to be viewed, rather than focussing on specific parts of the female body.

The first 30 second of the video acts to set up the narrative, and it is interesting how the first gymnast performs to classical movement and loses, while Sofia performs to the ‘Chemical Brothers’ and wins.

George Michael - Come Outside

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkZCpFLVKtc&feature=related

Starts off like a 70’s German Porn Film with many innuendo names such as ‘Huu Jarrs’ etc. This is also hinted at with the grainy effect, adding to the seediness of the opening. Opening the music video like this helps to set the mood for the how George Michael is clearly setting out to shock with this video. The setting of a public toilet reflects George Michael’s personal life at that time and this is revisited further into the video. Opening with a relatively old fictional clip from a porn film also links into the song’s lyrics with how sex and how people’s sexual habits are evolving from what they were (thus opening with the past).

The video as a whole is extremely voyeuristic as the audience are shown images having sex in public, mostly from the view of CCTV. These images reflect the lyrics and the title of the track, ‘Come Outside’. The video itself is quite shocking and definitely challenges both stereotypes and the public’s view, not least of George Michael. The video definitely challenges views on what ‘macho’ is, and this is demonstrated with the two bodybuilders who turn out to be homosexuals and the camp portrayal of the police (seen as a ‘macho’ job).

The last set piece of the video is set in a toilet (again a reference to George Michael’s private life) which transforms into a disco, with George dressed as an American policeman with mirrored Aviators. Not only is this reminiscent of the ‘Village People’ (going with the 70s Disco theme) but also reflects this being the first track released after George came out. The video therefore marks a change of image for George after his squeaky clean image in ‘WHAM!’. The police image at this point is turned into a homosexual connotation, by the uniform being very figure hugging, as well as the manner in which George suggestively swings his police baton. The video at this point becomes performance based as George sings and dances to the music in time. It is also important at this point as the video speeds up with the music.

(The 'George Michael' Toilet)

Other Track Options For Boybands

While researching potential cheesy boyband tracks, ere are a few I came across that would meet the criteria.

Wham!-Wham! Rap


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fJx2L2kVw0
Wham!-Jitter Bug

http://youtube.com/watch?v=xKaOXB3iGK4

5ive-Everybody Get Down

5ive-If Ya Gettin' Down

Cross-Referencing in Music Videos

Did a bit of research into cross-referencing media texts after a discussion in class today, and found these two video's that both imitate classic shots from the films they are referencing to, as well as scenarios.



Amerie-Take Control inspired by Antonioni's 'Blow Up'






REM-Everybody Hurts inspired by Fellini's 8 1/2

Jay-Z - American Gangster (close analysis)

Blues and greys – looks gritty, goes with tough Inner city look.

Red connotes violence and it is key that Jay Z’s name is in red as it contrasts from rest of the cover and stands out. Similarly in the booklet the title’s are red as well to contrast

Record labels are in crisp white to stand out and be noticeable to the buyer

Image of Jay-Z in longcoat over a dark suit. Connotations of ‘Gangster’ with links back to mafia films such as ‘The Godfather’. Fact he is silhouetted makes him even look like he is in some modern day western, especially by the fact he looks as if he is entering an open plan bar/saloon. Overall makes Jay-Z look dangerous and links to the title of the album. The cover also conveys how this is by no means Jay-Z’s first album, as otherwise this likening himself to a ‘godfather’ figure would seem to pretentious. Instead he gets away with this persona because of the success he has had and the number of years he has had in the business. This is not to mention his shady past.

Back cover with image of Jay-Z lighting up a cigar connotes riches and success and makes him appear as an aspirational figure. Simultaneously I links to the title of ‘American Gangster’ as matched with his dark tie and crisp white shirt he appears like a criminal from a film such as ‘Goodfellas’, where the anti-heroes are presented as being both dangerous and excessive in their lifestyles.

The booklet contains numerous images of wealth and success, as well as images of the city at night. Links to tracks such as ‘Hello Brooklyn2.0’ and ‘Party Life’.

The album appears very mainstream with the overall grandness of the cover. As well as this it looks like a lot of money has been spent on production of the artwork and so I would not expect an underground or unsuccessful artist to have made it.

Link to film, through title, very grainy look of artwork, as well as references in track titles such as ‘Blue Magic’ and of course ‘American Gangster’

Album Artwork

1) DR DRE - The Chronic

2) Guns n Roses - Appetite For Destruction

3) Wu Tang Clan - The Legend of Wu Tang

4) Wham! - Final

5) Kings of Leon - Because of the Times

6) Kanye West - Late Registration

7) Coldplay - Rush Of Blood To The Head

8) Jimmy Cliff - The Harder They Come

9) Gorillaz - Gorillaz

10)Jay-Z - American Gangster



Typical features:
Album title
Band Symbol
Band Name
Parental Warning for explicit lyrics

Ways to distinguish the covers:
Artwork (abstract or conveying message of Album)
Band Symbols
Picture of Band

Purpose Of The Album Covers:
To advertise a well known existing band by pushing band’s icon (Wu-Tang Clan, the mark of Wu-Tang)
To introduce a new band (Gorillaz- Title of album is same as the name of the band perhaps to introduce the group. Even just has the band on the cover)
Tie in with a film featuring the star so to promote both album, motion picture and artist (Jimmy Cliff IN The Harder They Come)

Good Uses Of Music And Imagery In Films

After Fridays lesson I began to think about the importance of sound and image, and how the combination of the two have created really powerful moments in cinema. Here are a few moments that stood out to me, and I hope to use them to help inspire me with my project.


The Ride Of The Valkyries - Apocalypse Now

I think the music at this point of the film really emphasises the death at destruction being shown onscreen.




Cavalleria Rusticana - Raging Bull

This is one of my favourite films, and I think that the music fits perfectly with the opening sequence of the film. First of all the editing means that pretty much as soon as the audience see's Jake La Motta, the crescendo of the music has kicked in. As well as this the reason Scorsese picked this music was because when he was growing up (in an Italian Neighbourhood), he used to hear this piece of music coming from peoples apartments constantly. The music therefore makes a link to the background of the central character of the film (having grown up in a similar neighbourhood as Scorsese). There is also a very interesting juxtaposition between what is essentially a very beautiful piece og music, and boxing, which is a violent sport. How the actual film is slowed down makes this opening very powerful as the shadowboxing seems graceful, almost as an artform when matched with the slow playing of the violin.

Holiday (The Beegees) - NowhereTo Hide

I think the music is really ironic seeing the content of the scene. However, the way in which the scene has been slowed right down makes the action seem more dramatic, especially where the victim falls down the steps and grabs his umbrella.

Current Tracks I'm Keen On That Meet Requirements

These are just a few early ideas that meet the current requirements, and I am currently thinking up scenarios/artists/ideas for


Dietro Casa - Ludvico Einaudi (Classical)

(previously used in This is England)


Auto Rock - Mogwai

(Previously used in Miami Vice)


Chick Habit - April March

(previously used in a car TV advert as well as Death Proof)

18 with a bullet - Pete Wingfield